The state Department of Transportation cut 3.35 percent from its budget last month without affecting its core highway and bridge programs or its aid to local municipalities.Now Gov. David Paterson has ordered the DOT to cut another 7 percent and institute a hiring freeze – and it’s too early to say what kind of pain this will produce.A DOT spokesman said Wednesday the intent is to devise a plan that meets the governor’s goals and “provides transparency and ensures the safety of the traveling public.”The Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s state aid for the current year appears safe, at least for now, and Paterson is already on record as wanting to avoid the fare and toll increases that the agency proposed last week.The other transportation agencies – the New York State Thruway Authority, the New York State Bridge Authority and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey – are self-supporting and receive no state tax money.The governor also raised the possibility of generating money from state assets through public-private partnerships and lease-backs but provided no details. Presumably, any such program would include some bridges or highways. Gov. Jon Corzine spent a year trying to convince New Jerseyans to do the same thing and failed.